To someday, I Promise
by truthhurtsliesheal
Summary: Maya gets asked out by one of the hottest guys in the school, but she declines because someone else is on her mind. Post Ski Lodge fic, so there will be some ski lodge spoilers in there and references based off of the spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

Maya Hart just walked out of her math class at the same time her best friend Riley walked out of her English class. Maya was walking down the stairs to the second floor of Abigail Adams High School while Riley was simultaneously coming upstairs from the first floor. Their classes were only 90 minutes long but to Riley and Maya it felt like they lasted forever especially since they didn't have their last classes together. They both spotted each other at the same time and ran over to give each other a big hug.

"Oh my god, I hate not having every single class with you." Riley confessed causing Maya to smile. They both released each other from the hug and Maya was ready to admit her struggles with not having every class with Riley.

"You're telling me, I was talking about this dry patch on my elbow and I turned around to show you and realized I was talking to Yogi." Maya said and Riley giggled. Before she could respond Yogi came from the same direction that Maya had come from and stopped to ask Maya if she took his advice.

"Did you try that eucalyptus girl?" Yogi said.

"Yeah, thanks Yogs." Maya said with a smile, Yogi smiled back then continued walking to his next class.

"Excuse me." Said an unfamiliar voice that the girls didn't recognize at first.

The girls turned to see that the voice belonged to a tall handsome boy, wearing a football jersey. He had blue eyes and black hair, he looked sort of like Nick Jonas in a way. The boy turned his attention to Maya and smiled at her.

"Hey, it's Maya right?" The boy asked still smiling at her.

"Yeah, it's Maya." Maya replied, her nerves clearly getting the best of her. After she turned around she recognized that the voice belonged to Chris, a sophomore boy who is in one of her study halls.

"Chris, we have study hall together." He said hoping that she at least had an idea of who he was.

"Yeah I remember." Maya said. Without realizing it she started to bite her lip out of nervousness.

All Maya could think about was saying the wrong thing and looking stupid in front of one of the guys that are on the football team.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go out this weekend?" Chris asked, deciding that it was best not to beat around the bush. His question had caught Maya off guard and she was at a loss for words.

"Like on a date?" She said, mentally face slapping herself for that terrible response.

"Yeah, I mean if you're not busy."

Now it was Chris's turn to catch the nerves. He didn't really know what to say after Maya asked if it was a date or not, and then he couldn't stop thinking about how this was a bad idea and he started to regret his decision to ever come up to her.

"Uhhh, I don't think …." Maya started before Riley decided to cut her off.

"Hello Chris, I'm Riley, Maya's best friend. And we're going to have to think about it and we'll let you know."

"Oh you're her best friend, so you're basically the bodyguard."

"Yes!"

"It's usually the other way around." Maya interjected before returning to her awkward silence.

"I respect it. Look here's my number best friend and if Maya is interested, tell her to give me a call." Chris said before handing Riley a piece of paper with his number on it.

"She will definitely be calling you." Riley said excitedly causing Chris to smile.

He walked away quietly, passing Lucas and Farkle on his way down the stairs heading towards the gym. Lucas and Farkle walked over to the girls. Lucas had a concerned look on his face because he saw the last part of the girls' conversation with Chris where he gave Riley his number for Maya. Farkle was the first to speak.

"I hate not having every single class with you guys anymore." Farkle said and the girls nodded in agreement.

"Yeah it really sucks. Riley who was the guy that was just talking to you?" Lucas said the jealousy was very obvious in his voice.

"Uhhhh…." Riley hesitated not knowing if Maya wanted the group to know about the guy who asked her out. Riley didn't really know what to say and she started to get fidgety. Maya noticed this and like clockwork she decided to answer for her.

"Don't worry Huckleberry, it was this guy Chris, who wants to go out on a date with me." Maya said, looking over at Riley who sighed in relief.

"Oh. So are you going to go out with him?" Lucas asked casually.

"Probably not."

"Why not?" Lucas and Riley asked at the same time.

"Because I just don't want to okay?" Maya said before walking off. She was not trying to have this conversation in the middle of the hallway but she knew that Riley was not going to leave it alone and that their conversation would be continued later in private.

Maya avoided Riley for most of the day because she did not want to talk about the whole Chris situation. She knew she was going to have to face Riley sooner rather than later because she always goes to Riley's house after school. She made it to the window and of course the window was already open. She climbed through the window and of course Riley was already sitting there waiting for her.

"Riles." Maya said with a smile.

"Peaches. You're late."

"Oh you were expecting me?" Maya asked in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm always expecting you."

"So…" Maya said and Riley jumped up. Just like Maya expected Riley was ready to freak out on her due to the whole situation at school today.

"Maya I know what you're doing." Riley said pacing back and forth out of frustration.

"What am I doing?" Maya said sitting in front of the bay window. This conversation didn't start out as expect and Maya was genuinely confused. She is just going to assume this was one of those moments where Riley found something wrong and tried to fix finally decided to sit down next to Maya and she turned herself so that they were making eye contact.

"You were asked out by one of the hottest guys in the school, who also happens to be on the football team, and you don't want to go out with him. Why?" Riley said already knowing the answer. Riley knew exactly why Maya didn't want to go out with Chris from the football team. She just wanted to see what excuse Maya was going to come up with.

"I'm just not interested." Maya said. It wasn't a complete lie but it wasn't the whole truth either. She did find Chris to be attractive but for whatever reason. She couldn't bring herself to accept his advances.

"I know why. " Riley said in a knowing tone.

"Why?"

"You're saving yourself for Josh." Riley said giving Maya a knowing look. Maya being Maya just shrugged it off.

"That's ridiculous." Maya said knowing in all honesty it wasn't the really all that ridiculous.

"You and Josh stayed up all night talking at the Ski Lodge, he said he'll wait for you, and now all of a sudden you're uninterested in dating other guys? Maya you should give Chris a chance."

"Riley, I don't want to go out with Chris the football guy."

"Don't you want to double date with me and Lucas? It'll be so much fun."

"I would love to double date with you and Huckleberry, when I date any other guy but Chris." Maya said, giving Riley a look that said "drop it".

"Maya!"

"Riles, just drop it okay?"

"Fine." Riley responded knowing that this wasn't going to be the end of this conversation.

The two girls got up at the same time and they walked back out in to the living room. To their surprise, Josh was sitting in the living room with Auggie. Josh heard their footsteps and turned around to see his niece and her best friend.

"Uncle Josh!" Riley exclaimed before walking toward him to give him a hug. The two embraced in a loving hug and then they broke apart.

"I didn't know you were coming here tonight." Riley said, not really to make conversation with Josh but more so to let Maya know that she had no idea that Josh would be here tonight.

"Yeah it was a last minute thing, your parents wanted me to babysit Auggie."

"Why didn't they ask me?" Riley asked confused.

"They asked Auggie and he picked me." Josh said and Riley gasped.

"Auggie!" Riley gasped in offense.

"It's nothing personal." Auggie said with a mouth full of spaghetti.

"What no hug from Maya?" Josh teased with a smirk. Maya smiled back and then she walked over to him to him to give him a hug.

The hug was short and sweet but full of a lot of feeling. When they let go they just stood and smiled at each other. Riley looked at her uncle and best friend with a smile on her face and then she had an idea.

"Bay window! Bay window right now." Riley said interrupting their moment. "You two."

"Me?" Josh asked.

"Yes, you and her."

"For what?" Josh asked.

"Riley." Maya warned but Riley ignored her.

"Go."

The two of them walked up the three steps and in the direction of Riley's room. They walked into the room together and sat in front of the window. A few moments passed before Josh decided to break the silence.

"So you and Riley just sit here." Josh said trying to kill the awkward silence in the room.

"Yup." Maya said while she was playing with her hands.

"And you talk about life."

"Yup."

"Okay that's a little weird." Josh said with a playful smile causing Maya to giggle.

"Hey! The bay window is very powerful."

"Oh I'm sure it is." Josh said with smirk.

"If we sit here long enough, you might end up confessing all of your secrets." Maya said and they both started laughing. Riley finally walked in to see the two laughing. Maya and Josh looked up to see Riley standing there and they immediately stopped laughing.

"Riley what's this all about?" Josh asked still confused as to why his niece forced him to sit in a window with her best friend.

"Maya was asked out by one of the guys on the football team and she refuses to give him a chance." Riley said then walked out of the room before anyone could say anything.

Maya had a glare on her face, all she could think about is how she was going to kill Riley when she got out of this room. Maya actually couldn't figure out why she was so surprised. This was typical Riley, always meddling and trying to fix everyone's lives. Although, Maya was incredibly annoyed with her best friend right now, she knew that there were good intentions behind her actions.

"So you were asked out by a guy on the football team, huh?" Josh said with a smirk. Although he genuinely was happy for her, a part of him felt a little weird about it.

"Yeah, but I turned him down." Maya said looking down at her feet not daring to make eye contact with Josh.

"Why?" Josh asked.

"I just wasn't interested." Maya said, still looking at the ground. Josh looked at her in disbelief. It finally clicked why Riley did all this. He realized that he was the one holding Maya back

"Maya…" Josh started

"I don't want anyone else besides you. I want to wait for you." Maya admitted. She knew Riley was right all along and the reason she said no is because of Josh.

"Three years is a long time." Josh sighed.

"You're worth it." Maya said and Josh blushed and smiled at the same time. He looked down for a few seconds before looking back up at Maya.

"I think you are too but, I don't want to be the reason why you miss out on having an amazing high school experience. That includes dating other guys."

"But..." Maya started. Before she could finish her sentence Josh has cut her off.

"But nothing, we have a deal. You live your life and I live mine remember?" Josh said referencing a conversation that the two had at the ski lodge a few weeks ago.

"What if me or you find someone else? Then what?" Maya said finally looking up at him.

"You have to trust that the universe knows what it's doing. If we're meant to be together it'll happen, someday. But until then go and live your life and be happy." Josh said before standing up to leave. Before he walked out of the room he looked back at her ready to say something else.

"Plus if the date with the football dude is terrible and everything in the world goes wrong, you and I can have a good laugh about it 10 years from now." Josh said with a wink and Maya started laughing.

He walked out of the Riley's room and left Maya sitting alone in the bay window. With Josh giving her his blessing to date whoever she wants she started to consider calling that boy Chris. Not long after Josh left Riley returned to her room and took her original seat next to Maya.

"So...?" Riley inquired, curious as to what Josh had said to her.

"I think I am gonna go out with Chris." Maya said and Riley gleamed with happiness.

"Yay!" Riley exclaimed. She was genuinely happy for her best friend. She knew Maya had strong feelings for Josh and she's just glad that Maya is actually going to give someone else a chance.

"And I'm totally gonna kill you for that." Maya said before jumping up and tackling Riley to the ground. They both laid there for a little while before Riley decided to speak.

"So you wanna sleepover?" Riley asked casually.


	2. Chapter 2

"I have absolutely NOTHING to wear." Maya shouted from the inside of Riley's walk in closet. Riley was calmly sitting in front of the bay window watching her best friend freak out over her date with Chris.

"You know…" Riley started as Maya continued to throw stuff out the closet in search of the perfect outfit to wear on her first official date. "…you are pretty obsessed with looking nice for someone who you said you didn't want to date in the first place.

Maya walked out the closet in pink flowery dress that had Riley Matthews written all over it. Maya knew the dress didn't fit her but she was desperate to look good for her date.

"You're not becoming me again are you?" Riley asked before Maya plopped down right next to her.

"I just want to make a good first impression. And if that includes me channeling my inner Mary Sunshine again, I'll do it."

"Maya, he asked you out because he likes you for you. You don't need to dress differently to make a good first impression." Riley said and Maya put her head on her shoulder.

"Why did life get so complicated?" Maya groaned.

"Because we started letting boys into our lives." Riley said brushing Maya's hair in a loving manner.

"You sure you don't want to make this a double date with me and Lucas?" Riley asked and Maya picked her head up.

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you and Huckleberry sitting there gazing into each other's eyes while me and Chris are trying to have a conversation."

"Okay fair enough." Riley said defeated. Maya got back up and continued looking through Riley's closet in search of the perfect outfit.

"Okay, I think I got it." Maya said before coming out in a short red dress, jean jacket and black boots.

"Ouchie wah wah." Riley said while Maya modeled her outfit.

"What do you think?"

"LOVE IT!" Riley responded in an octave that was slightly lower than usual.

"I know right." Maya said with a big smile on her face.

Before Maya knew it, the doorbell to the Matthew's residence rang, letting Maya and Riley know that Chris was there. Riley ran to the living room, while Maya walked behind her calmly. Maya decided to stop and stand behind the couch while Riley went and opened the door.

Riley opened the door and greeted Chris before stepping to the side and letting him in. He took one look at Maya and his jaw dropped. She blushed and looked down before beginning to take some steps towards him. He followed suit and they found themselves standing face to face.

"Maya you look gorgeous." He said and Maya smiled softly. His comment was really sweet but she couldn't help letting her mind drift back to the time Josh told her that she had grew up gorgeous, at the Matthews Christmas Dinner two years back. Then she briefly wondered what he was going to be up to tonight but before her mind could wander and more she was brought back to reality.

"Thank you so much. I'm really excited for our date." Maya said shyly. For the first time since she has been herself again, she's at a loss for words.

"So where are we going tonight?" Maya asked curiously.

"It's a surprise." Chris said with a wink.

"Okay, lead the way." Maya said.

The two of the walked out of the threshold together and started walking towards the elevator. Riley walked out into the hallway to watch the two.

"Don't have her out too late." Riley yelled before they got into the elevator to leave.

Chris smiled and nodded at Riley and before they knew it, the elevator doors shut and he and Maya were on their way to the secret location of their date.

After the pair exited Riley's apartment building, they walked several blocks before Maya finally inquired again about the location of their date. Chris just smirked and told her to trust him. Of course she didn't and was a little hesitant but she figured that she didn't have much to lose.

They weren't too far from the North part of the NYU campus. By the apparel of the people walking passed them, she concluded that they were mostly NYU students and it made her think about Josh again. She tried to shrug it off but she couldn't help but think about him.

Chris finally stopped in front of a restaurant. Maya looked up and realized that it was Paco's Tacos and she squealed a little.

"Is this where we're eating?" Maya said a little too excitedly. Chris laughed a little before answering her question.

"Yes. A little birdy told me that you love tacos. So…" Chris said shrugging. He had asked Riley three days ago where a good place to take Maya out on their first date would be and Riley basically told him everything he needed to know to make their date go smoothly.

The two walked in together and sat down in a booth. Chris had requested that they sit on the other side of the restaurant, away from the noisy college kids making their ways in and out. Their waitress gave them a menu but it was unnecessary because Maya already knew what she wanted so she ordered and then Chris decided to get the same thing Maya got.

There was a short, awkward silence before Maya decided to break it and ask Chris why he wanted to ask her out.

"So Chris…" Maya said slowly in an attempt to get his attention.

"Yes?" he said with a smile.

"Why did you want to go out with me?"

"Why wouldn't anyone want to go out with you?"

"That doesn't answer my question. Why did you want to go out with me?" Maya said trying not to sound overly aggressive, but maintaining her assertiveness.

"Maya you're gorgeous, funny, smart, a little feisty too." He said with a smirk. She blushed at the feisty part and then she realized he said the g word again. What's with him and this word?

"Thank you. Sorry for asking it's just, I've never really been asked out before."

"Never?" Chris asked skeptically.

"Well…" Maya started. She was going to explain the whole triangle and Lucas situation but decided not to divulge that information just yet.

"…yeah never." Maya finished.

"Well, there is a first time for everything right?" Chris said with a smile.

"So have you lived in the city your whole life?" Maya said deciding to take the rest of the dinner in a new direction.

"No I used to live in Albany but my dad's job transferred him here two years ago, so he and I moved down to the city."

"Just you and your dad?" Maya asked.

"Yeah. My mom isn't around." He said looking down. Before Maya could push any further the waitress brought their food.

Once she put the food down and left Maya wanted to pick up where they had left off.

"What do you mean she's not around?" Maya asked. Chris looked back down. There was no indication that he was going to answer so Maya spoke again. "Sorry for asking." Maya said and then decided to tell her own story to make him feel more comfortable. "For the longest it was just me and mom. My dad left us when I was younger."

He looked up at her and gave her a soft smile.

"Looks like we have something in common. My mom decided she didn't want to be a mom anymore and took off one day. It's been just me and my dad ever since. Not gonna lie, it still hurts that she left."

"I know how you feel. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive my dad for leaving. I tried, but I just can't do it."

Maya could tell the Chris wasn't really in the best mood after talking about such a heavy topic on the first date. She reached over and put her hand over his to show him that she empathizes with him. That slowly turned in to the two of them holding hands while talking about more light-hearted topics.

Before she knew it, it was almost 9pm and the two of them were talking about anything and everything. Laughing and still holding hands from before. Maya was so engulfed in their conversation she didn't notice the person that walked up to their table.

"Maya?" The boy questioned in disbelief. Josh could not believe that his Maya was on a date with another guy. Granted he gave her his blessing to date whomever she pleases on two different occasions. The first time was when Zay confronted them both about focusing too much on the future instead of enjoying the present. The second time was when some guy asked her out and she didn't want to go, he gave her the push she needed to go on the date.

"Oh, hey Josh." Maya said awkwardly.

He was completely unware that Maya was going to be at the same restaurant as him and his friends. Then he realized that this was probably the same guy that he convinced her to go out with not too long ago. He mentally kicked himself for that. The guy was athletic, from what he could tell from the guy sitting down he was tall, and black hair and blue eyes. A decent looking guy.

"Um Chris, this is Riley's Uncle Josh." Maya finally stated after a moment of semi-awkward silence.

'Riley's Uncle Josh' Josh repeated in his head. Maya's words stung but he shrugged it off. He knew that her saying that was a lot easier than explaining their complicated current situation. However, he still felt a little hurt by the words she said.

"Nice to meet cha." Chris said with a smile before sticking his hand out for Josh to shake. Josh politely shook his hand then decided that maybe it was time for him to head out and catch up to his friends.

"Pleasures all mine bro." Josh said before the two let their hands go. Josh shoved his hands into his pockets and Maya twiddled her thumbs not really knowing what to say.

"So, I'm going to let you guys get back to your dinner. I hope you have a good night." Josh said with a slight smile.

"Thanks man. Hope you have a good night too."

"Thanks. Take good care of this one." He said referring to Maya. She finally looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back before walking out without another word to the pair.

"He seems cool." Chris said referring to Josh. Maya just looked down and decided to finish her food.

The rest of their date went off without a hitch. Throughout the rest of the the night Maya found out that Chris used to paint when he was younger and then he decided to branch out a start playing football. She told him about how she wants to travel the world and draw the different places around the world. This was the first time Maya felt comfortable opening up to a new person about her life. She was thrilled that someone was willing to listen to all the different things that she had on her mind.

After they finally finished eating, Chris paid for their meal and the two of them left the restaurant together. A couple blocks into their walk back to Matthew's apartment, Chris grabbed Maya's hand and held it. At first she was slightly startled but she relaxed and started to smile. Their walk was mostly silent, but not an awkward silence like the walk to the restaurant was, but a comfortable silence in which the two didn't feel forced to make conversation.

Several blocks later, they finally reached the apartment building. Maya told Chris he didn't have to walk her upstairs to which he protested about. Maya eventually just gave in and let him walk her upstairs. Maya and Chris stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall.

"I had a really nice time." Maya said stopping right in front of Riley's apartment.

"Yeah me too." He responded with a smile before adding something else to his statement. "This is the first time I've really talked about my mom to anyone."

"Really? It means a lot that you chose me to share that with." Maya said.

"Um yeah. So I'll see you in school on Monday?" Chris responded.

"See you then." Maya said. She gained courage out of nowhere to get on her tippy toes and give him a kiss on the cheek. Before she could move away he wrapped his arms around her to give her a hug to which she reciprocated.

It wasn't too long before Maya decided to pull away.

"I'll see you later." She said before she decided to open the door to the apartment.

Maya walked into the Matthews residence casually. She looked around and no one was there. She went to the kitchen to see if someone left a note but there was any. She then turned around and noticed that she wasn't alone anymore. She jumped and then realized it was just Josh.

"Hey what are you doing here?" She asked surprised to see the boy she had not too long ago ran into.

"I could ask you the same question." He pointed out and she playfully rolled her eyes at him.

"True. I just got back from my date. Your turn."

"I'm doing my laundry." Josh responded before realizing that he didn't let her in the apartment. "Wait how did you get in here?"

"I have a key." She said like it was no big deal.

Josh smiled at this statement because it reminded him of something Cory would've done with Shawn. The pair stood with a good amount of space between them, not saying anything. Maya was trying to look anywhere but at Josh, while Josh was just staring at the ground. A few more moments passed by before Josh decided to speak up.

"So how was the date?" Josh asked in a neutral tone. He couldn't say he was thrilled that Maya was on a date and holding hands with another guy but he knows that her happiness is the most important thing here.

"Good." She said trying to play coy about the whole thing.

"Just good?"

"Josh, he's amazing. We have so much in common and he's such a nice guy. Thank you."

"For what?"

"Pushing me to go out with him."

"Oh yeah. No problem."

"I'm gonna head down to Topanga's to meet up with everyone."

"Yeah sure."

"Til next time?" Maya asked looking up at him.

His eyes met hers and the two of them stared at each other. Josh moved closer to her to fix on of her hairs that were out of place. He reached down and tucked her hair behind her ear and she looked down and blushed.

"Til next time." His voice cracked a little when he responded but he gave her a small smile and then walked out the front door. He was kind of upset about the situation but his pride was definitely not going let him admit that to her.


	3. Chapter 3

Riley, Lucas, Zay and Farkle were all standing in the hallway by the lockers of their high school. They've been in high school for about a month now and the transition was definitely not an easy one. The gang was talking about their homework for health class. Health class is the class that the gang all hated and was the worst part of their entire day. The conversation went in a different direction when Zay decided to point out the fact that Maya wasn't there.

"Wait a minute. Where is Maya?" Zay asked curious as to why she wasn't there and why no one else seemed to notice.

"She's probably with Chris." Riley stated.

"They've been hanging out a lot lately huh?" Zay inquired.

"Yeah it's good for her. I want Maya to be happy." Lucas chirped up.

Like it was planned, Maya walked up to the group with a big smile on her face.

"Hey guys." She said.

'Hey?' Riley repeated before going into a rant about never seeing Maya anymore. "I haven't seen you in 84 years and all you have to say is 'Hey'?"

"Sorry Riles, I've been hanging out with Chris lately. But you know that means you have more time to spend with Huckleberry." Maya said with a smile before turning in the opposite direction and walking off.

"Okay that was weird. Why would she just say 'Hey' then leave?" Farkle asked to no one in particular.

"I think Chris stole my best friend." Riley said looking down at the floor.

Topanga's after school

"Do you think Maya's gonna show up?" Zay asked to no one in particular.

"Of course she is. We always come here after school to do our homework." Riley quipped.

"You said that yesterday and the day before." Lucas pointed out.

"Well now that she has a new 'friend', she hasn't really been around that much. Maybe she's with Chris." Farkle stated.

"Don't get me wrong, I love that Maya's happy, I just really miss her." Riley said putting her head down. Lucas put his arm around her and pulled her close to show support to his girlfriend.

Josh walked into Topanga's like he did everyday at 3:45 to get his daily cup of coffee before his 4:00 class. Josh was not a fan of late classes but he wanted nothing more than to take a Psychology class this semester and that was the only one with an available seat.

Josh looked to his right and noticed the four friends sitting there. He also noticed that there was one person missing from their group. He walked over to say hello to his niece and her group of friends.

"Hey kiddos." Josh said walking up to the group.

"Uncle Josh! How's it going?"

"It's uh, it's going I guess." Josh said awkwardly running his hands through his hair. He put it down and began to lean on the couch.

"How's it going for you guys?"

"Riley's upset because she hasn't hung out with Maya in a while." Farkle stated.

"What's a while? About 45 minutes?" Josh said with smirk.

"I haven't hung out with Maya all week." Riley said, and Josh's jaw dropped.

"What? You guys are like attached at the hip, what happened?"

"She and her new friend having been together all week." Lucas said.

"That Carlos guy?"

"Chris. But yeah him."

Maya and Chris walk in before Josh could inquire any further about the two people who just made their entrance.

"Hey guys." Maya said with a smile on her face.

"Hey." Riley, Farkle, Zay, Lucas, and Josh all said at the same time.

"Lucas, Zay, Farkle, I wanted you to meet Chris. We've sorta been hanging out." Maya said.

"Nice to meet you guys." Chris said shaking the three boys hands. He turned and noticed Josh standing there as well.

"Josh right? It's good to see you again." Chris said going in to give him a dap.

Josh reciprocated the action with smile before verbally responding by saying, "it's good to see you too."

"Guys I'm gonna get going, I have class in like five minutes." Josh said before quickly walking out of Topanga's. Josh didn't even have a chance to get the coffee that he initially stopped at Topanga's for.

"Hey Riley." Chris said finally acknowledging her presence after Josh walked out.

"Yeah hi." Riley said before continuing to do her work and ignoring him. Maya didn't have a chance to say anything about Riley's rudeness because Lucas decided to start a conversation.

"I was starting to think we'd never get meet you." Lucas said.

"No it's not like that. I'm just busy with school and football practice and stuff."

"Ready for the homecoming game next week?" Lucas responded

"Always ready for a game man. We're definitely going to win and then the homecoming dance is the next night. I get to celebrate with this pretty lady right here." He said gesturing to Maya. Maya started blush and she looked down at her feet.

Before the conversation could continue Chris noticed that it was almost 4 and he was going to be late for Football practice.

"I actually have to go to practice right now. I'll see you guys around." Chris said before turning his attention back to Maya.

"I should be home at around 6, I'll call you then."

"I'll be waiting." She responded and Chris smiled at her. He took a step forward to kiss Maya's cheek before walking out of the shop.

She returned her focus to the group. They all looked at her waiting for an explanation. Or at least the answer to the question they all were wondering at the moment. Maya walked around the couch and sat on the end next to where Farkle was sitting.

"What?" She asked feeling all the eyes in the room on her.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Farkle blurred out, not wanting to wait around for someone to sugar coat it.

"He hasn't asked me. I'm not trying to hope for anything. I still think hope is for suckers."

"Maya, your mom and Shawn got married, that should be enough to show you that sometimes having hope isn't a bad thing." Lucas said surprisingly. Maya was expecting the hope lecture to come from Riley who was being surprisingly quiet.

"Thanks Huckleberry, but I just don't want to hope for too much."

"Well I'm happy for you Maya. I want everything to work out for you." Zay said and Maya responded with a smile.

"Can we just get back to work. I don't want to talk about this anymore." Riley finally said.

"Riles what's wrong?"

"Nothing at all."

"Then why are you acting like this? You were so rude to Chris when he was here, and now you're being weird."

"Ladies..." Farkle started before being cut off by Riley.

"I just want to do my homework with my friends and not have to talk about anything else."

"You know what, I'm leaving. You can do your homework with all your friends except for me." Maya said before getting up and walking out of Topanga's.

It was after 6:30 at night. Maya and Riley still weren't talking and it was really upsetting her. She decided to go back to Topanga's to get a hot chocolate and on the off chance that she might run into Riley while she's there. She walked in hoping to see her best friend but she wasn't there. May shrugged then walked up to the counter and ordered a white hot chocolate to go.

"Maya?" A voice from one of the tables called out.

Maya turned around and her eyes met Josh's. She grabbed the hot chocolate off the counter and walked over to him.

"Hey Josh." Maya said with a smile. "How's it going?"

"Great" Josh said not making eye contacting with her. Maya didn't buy it. She sat down across from him and he looked up a her.

"What's the matter hunny?" Maya said. Josh got a little flustered at her "hunny" comment but he just brushed it off because part of him knew that she wasn't being serious.

"I have a 10 page paper due tomorrow and another 5 page pager due in two days about a topic I haven't even heard of. Not to mention the fact that I have no clean clothes and haven't had an actual meal in over a week."

"Josh, just remember that this is only temporary. Everything will work out in the end. Trust me." Maya said placing her hand on top of Josh's hand in an empathetic fashion.

"Thanks Maya." Josh said.

The two made eye contact and looked int each other's eyes for several seconds before Josh decided to ask about her and Riley.

"So what's going on with you and Riley?" Josh asked cutting to the chase.

"What do you know?"

"Nothing." Josh said throwing his hands up defensively. "It's just you guys are usually inseparable and you're not with her right now. It says a lot."

"Well, we're not really taking right now."

"Why?"

"She's acting really weird and distant. And she was rude to Chris when we came here this afternoon. She's mad at me for whatever reason but she doesn't need to take it out on him." Maya said. Josh nodded to show her that he was listening, which in fact he was, and he compared what she said to what Riley was saying earlier.

"I think she feels like you may have forgotten about her."

"Why would she feel like that?"

"Out of nowhere you start hanging out with someone else all the time, you're not around as much. I think she just misses you. Granted, she should've just said that to you instead of reacting the way she did."

"Oh."

"Just go sit in the silly window and make up with her. You two are good together."

"The bay window is not silly. "

"Of course it's not." Josh said sarcastically and Maya playfully shoved him.

"I keep telling you, it's powerful."

"Uh huh tell me more." Josh said and before he could say anything else, his phone started to ring.

"Hello." He answered

"Yeah I'm gonna stop by before I go back to my dorm. See you then." Josh said with a smile.

"Who was that?" Maya asked.

"This girl Cheryl that I met in my freshmen seminar class."

"Oh."

"Yeah, she's from Virginia. We've sorta been hanging out lately."

"How long?"

"About two weeks."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to bring it up before I knew where it was going."

"Okay."

"Maya?"

"What?"

"Are you mad?"

"No. I'm happy for you Josh. I really am. I'm gonna get going but it was nice talking to you. I'll see you around." Maya said before grabbing her forgotten hot chocolate, which was probably cold now, and exiting the Bakery.

Bay window

Maya crawled through the Bay Window and noticed Riley sitting there alone. She sat next to her and the two best friends sat in silence.

"I hate it when we fight." Maya said deciding to be the bigger person.

"Me too."

"I'm sorry." The two girls said at the same time.

"Wait why are you sorry?" Said Riley.

"You're my best friend. I don't want you to ever feel like I'm starting to forget about you or don't have time for you. Boys come and go but what we have here is forever."

" I accept your apology. I'm sorry for not just telling you how I feel and being rude to your..." Riley said, not really knowing how to end the sentence.

"Friend." Maya finished.

"Do you think he's going to ask you to be his girlfriend? Do you want to be his girlfriend?"

"Josh is talking to another girl." Maya said, ignoring Riley's original question. It shouldn't bother me but it does. It bothers me that he didn't tell me until today. I mean I've been hanging out with Chris a lot and I like him but I still have feelings for Josh."

"You and Josh said you were going to live your own lives for right now."

"I know but that doesn't change the fact that I like him. Just because another guy comes into my life, that doesn't mean my feelings for him are just going to change." Maya said looking down at the ground.

"If you and Josh are meant to be it'll happen. Don't worry about it. Everything is going to work out. I know how you feel about Josh, but I don't think that should effect your decision about being with Chris."

"You're right." Maya said before placing her head on Riley's shoulder for comfort.

 **A/N: I really started to dislike this chapter, but I'm posting it anyway so I can get to the stuff I actually like. I was going to write about the Homecoming Dance but I'm probably just going to skip over it and write about Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. I might go back and write a flashback chapter if you all really want it but as for right now we're just going to skip it. In the next chapter, I will write an authors note as to what was going to happen in the Homecoming Dance chapter so that no one is confused.**


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